Thursday, October 6, 2011

Kansas II Race Preview

AJ ALLMENDINGERNo. 43 Best Buy Ford Fusion
• Allmendinger has made four NASCAR Sprint Cup Series starts at Kansas Speedway
• Allmendinger enters the race in 14th place in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver point standings
• Allmendinger’s best finish (ninth) at the 1.5-mile track came in 2008

AJ Allmendinger on Kansas: “We’re coming off of a good weekend in Dover so we should have some momentum going into Kansas Speedway. We struggled there in the spring, but I’ve had two Top-10 finishes at the 1.5-mile track in the past. It’s a tough track to get around. It’s bumpy and the car usually lacks grip. We’ve experienced difficulties at mile and a half tracks this year and I feel like with Greg onboard we are headed in the right direction with our intermediate track program. It was good to see both RPM teams finish in the Top-10 last weekend and I am looking forward to much of the same at Kansas on Sunday in our best Buy Ford.”

Crew Chief Greg Erwin’s Thoughts on Kansas: “I enjoy going to Kansas. It’s a fun race track. One of the biggest problems we’ll face this weekend is that the tires go away quick because the track’s racing surface is old and rough. It’s going to be really important to make AJ feel like he has some grip in the Best Buy Ford this weekend. The track is bumpy, which can upset the handling, and it seems like it gets bumpier every time we go there. We’re just going to focus on making sure the Best Buy Ford has good balance all weekend.”

Chassis History: The No. 43 Richard Petty Motorsports team has prepared chassis No. 742 for this weekend’s event at Kansas Speedway. This Best Buy Ford has been run previously this season at California, Charlotte, (Sprint Showdown) Kentucky and Michigan.

Notes: Allmendinger has two Top-10 finishes in four NASCAR Sprint Cup Series starts at Kansas Speedway. Allmendinger’s best finishing position at Kansas (ninth) came in 2008. He enters this weekend in 14th place in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver point standings. Allmendinger has completed 1,067 of 1,068 laps attempted at the 1.5-mile speedway.

Allmendinger is participating in a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series open test Oct. 4-5 at Phoenix International Raceway. Teams will be on track from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The test was scheduled to allow Sprint Cup Series teams to get a feel for the new surface and configuration of the track. In March, construction began at the track for the first track repave since 1990 and changes in the tracks banking and configuration were also implemented to promote side-by-side racing. The test provides the first opportunity for all teams to run on the new surface in preparation for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race coming up on Nov. 13. Teams were also permitted to bring an extra car for fuel injection testing.

AJ will also be participating in a charity event on behalf of Best Buy on Thursday at Elko Speedway in Elko, Minnesota. One hundred percent of the ticket sales will be donated to The Minnesota Military Families Foundation. The evening will consist of racing, an autograph session and an on-track Q-and-A session. Richard Petty and teammate Marcos Ambrose will also be in attendance.

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I'm not affiliated with AJ or the Allmendinger family in any way. Nor am I employed by or affiliated with JTG Daugherty Racing. I am just a very devoted fan who enjoys sharing information about my favorite driver.